Dovizioso to sit out 2021 MotoGP season
After confirming earlier this year that he won’t be with the Ducati Team in 2021, Andrea Dovizioso has announced that he won’t be in the MotoGP paddock at all next year.
Dovizioso’s sabbatical in 2021 will end 13 seasons in the premier class for the Italian, including the past eight with the Ducati Team, where he has finished as runner-up in the championship on three occasions.
In an Instagram post released on 10 November, the 34-year-old made his plans clear:
"This is what I'm going to do in 2021. Over the last few months, I have received several offers to work as a test rider in developing MotoGP projects and I am grateful for the consideration received by the manufacturers. However, I have decided not to make any commitments and to remain free from formal agreements for now.
"I have an immense passion for racing. I still have the ambition to compete and fight to win. I will return to MotoGP as soon as I find a project driven by the same passion and ambition that I have and within an organization that shares my same objectives, values and working methods.
"Now I am focused on finishing the World Championship in the best possible way, and I have already started developing some projects with my partners."
Dovizioso’s statement is an obvious dig at Ducati and their seeming inability to build a Desmosedici capable of seriously challenging Marc Marquez’s Honda.
And while he says he still has a passion for racing, Dovizioso’s chances of returning to MotoGP – and with a factory team - in 2022 or later are by no means guaranteed, especially given the rise of younger riders and the return of Marc Marquez next year.
What will work in the veteran rider’s favour is that a number of the current rider contracts expire at the end of the 2021 season, so those that don’t perform next year will be under pressure.
There’s also the possibility that Dovizioso may enjoy his time away from the sport and make his exit permanent.
